


She Should Be Queen

by lea_hazel



Category: Community
Genre: Alcohol, Collection: Purimgifts Extras, Female Friendship, Feminist Themes, Gen, Hangover, Kings & Queens, Purim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-10
Updated: 2012-03-10
Packaged: 2017-11-01 18:25:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/359883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lea_hazel/pseuds/lea_hazel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Annie's party, Britta crashes at her place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She Should Be Queen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [automaticdoor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/automaticdoor/gifts).



> This story is a tag to [Shadow Theater Presents](http://archiveofourown.org/works/357400).

The morning after Annie's big Jewish party, Britta woke up covered in a headache and a flowery pink bedspread. On the bedside table, a clock shaped like a Flamenco dancer hammered home every ticking second. Two fuzzy red pincer-gloves lay, forlorn, against the dresser. The blinds were half-open, and a little light filtered in. It was probably not yet afternoon. If she were home in her own bed, Britta would have rolled over and gone back to sleep. But, here she was, in someone else's apartment, so she had to put a better face on it. Or something.

"Knock knock!" Annie slid open the door and peeped in. "I thought I heard you in here!"

"Morning," said Britta. "It is still morning, isn't it?"

"Quarter to ten," answered Annie with a radiant smile.

Britta suppressed a groan. What an hour to be up and hung-over on a Saturday morning. "What happened last night?"

Annie strolled in and sat down on the edge of the bed. "We were putting Jeff into a taxi, and when we came back up you were asleep. You wouldn't wake up so we figured we'd let you sleep it off. I asked Troy to carry you in here."

" _Troy_?" asked Britta nervously. "Did he touch my butt?" She tried discreetly peeking under the bedspread to figure out how much clothing she was still wearing.

"Britta!"

Sometimes it was easy to forget how quickly Annie got scandalized. Luckily, she was still wearing most of her costume, so she threw off the covers and threw her arm around Annie, making a quick and nimble subject change. "Come on, let's get some coffee. Hey, your play last night was really cool!"

***

Tousle-haired and hung-over, Britta nursed her third coffee of the morning, and somehow maintained enough poise and energy to contemplate feminist critiques of religious texts. This was just one of those inexplicable things that made Britta, Britta, mused Annie, sipping her honeyed tea. She would never admit that she hated the taste of coffee, no matter how much sugar was in it, least of all to Britta. Cocoa milk and swirly straws were likewise out of the question.

"I just think," Britta went on, "that it's _a bit harsh_ to punish her, when she didn't do anything wrong! She wouldn't show up at his party? Whoop-e-do! Since when is that grounds for divorce?" 

"Well," said Annie, drawing out the word to give her time to think of a rebuttal, "the thing is, I really think, Queen Esther is a much better role-model for girls. She's clever and resourceful, not to mention loyal. She saves her people pretty much single-handed. She's a hero!" 

"Yeah, but what sort of message is this sending to young girls?" asked Britta, jabbing her finger at Annie in her unnerving way. "Sit down and shut up? Obey your husband at all costs, or he'll get rid of you like yesterday's newspaper?" She huffed and snorted and gulped down some coffee. 

"Yeah," said Annie reluctantly. "I guess Vashti got the short end of the stick, so to speak. It's just, Esther's been my personal hero since forever." 

"Aww," said Britta, her mouth softening dramatically, "that's nice." 

Annie smiled and ducked her head. 

Then she launched in again. "But lifting up one woman as a hero doesn't require casting all other women down! Vashti is  _cool_. She stands up for herself, she's resolved and tenacious, and... and consistent. No, I mean  _persistent_ . She's a hero, too! I mean, she  _could_ be a hero if they let her. She should be queen. Like Eleanor of Aquitaine." 

"She was a royal consort," said Annie, who had almost taken History of Europe for her history credit in the fall semester. "Catherine the Great is a better example, she ruled in her own right." 

"We should make a list," said Britta, slapping the table, "of great historical queens. I bet no one's ever bothered to do that before." 

Annie smiled, more than a little relieved that the conversation was taking a turn she knew what to do with. "You know what? That's a great idea." 


End file.
